The Ministry of Education is to draft guidelines for universities when engaging in student exchanges with Chinese universities to ensure academic freedom, equality and reciprocity, Minister of Education Pan Wen-chung (潘文忠) said yesterday.
Taiwanese universities were discovered to have signed letters for Chinese universities saying that they would not teach subjects that criticize or reject the “one China” policy. In some Chinese provinces, students are required to obtain the letter before their plans to study in Taiwan could be approved.
Shih Hsin University reportedly admitted 11 students from China for the February to June semester.
Pan said the ministry would talk with authorities to establish principles by which cross-strait educational exchanges can continue without concerns over sovereignty or academic freedom.
Local universities have made a wide range of promises, Pan said, adding that the ministry would investigate over the next two weeks.
While it has been rumored that universities that signed such letters would be punished, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Alicia Wang (王育敏) asked the ministry not to “randomly accuse universities of the practice.”
“It is simply a pledge, not a commitment to ‘one China’,” Wang said, urging the ministry to respect universities’ professionalism and refrain from placing them under unnecessary pressure.
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) said that as such pledges agree not to discuss “one China” topics, they should also agree not to talk about unification or the so-called “1992 consensus.”
“What if China wants universities to sign a pledge saying that the Republic of China is not an independent sovereign nation?” Lee said, adding that such pledges must be properly regulated.
The “1992 consensus” — a term former Mainland Affairs Council chairman Su Chi (蘇起) admitted making up in 2000 — refers to a tacit understanding between the KMT and the Chinese government that both sides acknowledge there is “one China,” with each side having its own interpretation of what “China” means.
Eight Chinese naval vessels and 24 military aircraft were detected crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait between 6am yesterday and 6am today, the Ministry of National Defense said this morning. The aircraft entered Taiwan’s northern, central, southwestern and eastern air defense identification zones, the ministry said. The armed forces responded with mission aircraft, naval vessels and shore-based missile systems to closely monitor the situation, it added. Eight naval vessels, one official ship and 36 aircraft sorties were spotted in total, the ministry said.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) today said that if South Korea does not reply appropriately to its request to correct Taiwan’s name on its e-Arrival card system before March 31, it would take corresponding measures to alter how South Korea is labeled on the online Taiwan Arrival Card system. South Korea’s e-Arrival card system lists Taiwan as “China (Taiwan)” in the “point of departure” and “next destination” fields. The ministry said that it changed the nationality for South Koreans on Taiwan’s Alien Resident Certificates from “Korea” to “South Korea” on March 1, in a gesture of goodwill and based on the
Taiwanese officials were shown the first of 66 F-16V fighter jets purchased by Taiwan from the United States, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday, adding the aircraft has completed an initial flight test and is expected to be delivered later this year. A delegation led by Deputy Minister of National Defense Hsu Szu-chien (徐斯儉) visited Lockheed Martin’s F-16 C/D Block 70 (also known as F-16V) assembly line in South Carolina on March 16 to view the aircraft. The jet will undergo a final acceptance flight in the US before being delivered to Taiwan, the
The New Taipei Metro's Sanyin Line and the eastern extension of the Taipei Metro's Tamsui-Xinyi Line (Red Line) are scheduled to begin operations in June, the National Development Council said today. The Red Line, which terminates at Xiangshan Station, would be connected by the 1.4km extension to a new eastern terminal, Guangci/Fengtian Temple Station, while the Sanyin Line would link New Taipei City's Tucheng and Yingge stations via Sanxia District (三峽). The council gave the updates at a council meeting reviewing progress on public construction projects for this year. Taiwan's annual public infrastructure budget would remain at NT$800 billion (US$25.08 billion), with NT$97.3
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